Maine Township’s post office opened in 1850, and 4 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 61% of U.S. towns · #323 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Most of Maine Township was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1965. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1930.
Founding year: the first Maine Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Maine Township’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Maine Township is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns, #323 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Maine Township’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Maine Township ranks #208 on History.
Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Maine Township’s 9.6 sits above most of its state (83% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 132 historic buildings outnumber those of 91% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share (±1.0 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Maine Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Maine Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1900Highwood sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Maine Township.
On the National Register
4 listings protect 132 historic buildings
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
132
each building in a district counts
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
The story so far
Maine Township, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Maine Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Maine Township is one of 29 townships in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 140,600 at the 2020 census. The township was founded in 1850. Maine Township is located in Cook County, directly north and east of O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. Maine Township contains portions of the Chicago suburbs of Park Ridge, Morton Grove, Niles, Glenview, Des Plaines and Rosemont. The township also contains unincorporated sections which mostly use a Des Plaines mailing address. Even though they have a Des Plaines (and in some cases a Niles) mailing address, the addresses follow Chicago's numbering system, where the starting points are State and Madison. Interstate 294, also kn…
Its first post office opened in 1850. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 135,772 to 140,600 (+4%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
By decade
Maine Township, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Maine Township post office opened in 1850, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Maine Township rank for history?
Maine Township is more historic than 61% of U.S. towns, #323 of 768 in Illinois. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Maine Township?
9% of Maine Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1965.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1880
